"So this is a 3D reconstruction of Otis's head."
In green there, that's his tumour.
"And we have unfortunately had some animals die"
after the procedure,
most of them because of strokes, we think.
"If he moves even a millimetre, that could potentially"
"make the surgery a failure rather than a success."
Ready for your surgery?
Meanwhile,
at the Hertfordshire campus of the RVC,
it is the moment of truth for nine year old Otis.
All a bit worrying, isn't it?
Today, neurosurgeon Patrick Kenny
will drill through Otis’s mouth
into his skull to remove the tumour on his pituitary gland.
It's encouraging, isn't it, Otis?
The RVC was the first veterinary hospital
"in the UK to pioneer this radical operation."
"So this is a 3D reconstruction of Otis’s head."
In green there, that's his tumour.
This tumour on the so-called master
gland causes Otis to overproduce
growth hormone, resulting in his severe case of diabetes.
That's right near the base of the brain,
where lots of nerves like the optic nerves,
the nerves that allow vision to occur, go into the brain.
Where a lot of the arteries that supply
the brain's blood supply are.
"So there's certainly a risk of damage to those."
So it's a difficult spot to get to.
That bit’s going to be fine
if you can get that bit of hair off there
and maybe the leading edge.
The benefits are almost miraculous.
But the risk is profound.
And we have unfortunately
had some animals die after the procedure.
Most of them because of strokes, we think.
But that's about 10 or 15%
of the cases that we've seen here.
For Otis’s owner, Richard,
There was little choice.
I know you're missing him.
Otis had been given just one year to live.
"Otis and his friends mean everything to me."
I know that there's a chance
that he could never come home.
And then the thought of
maybe never seeing him again
is devastating.
But I knew it had to be done.
Otherwise, I'd never forgive myself
for not trying to help him.
I know you’re missing him.
He's going to be fine.
You know he’s strong.
Best of luck.
We’ll see you on the other side.
He's pretty much in the frame now.
We just need to position him
with his mouth pretty much wide open
so we can get to the skull base.
At the RVC,
neurosurgeon Patrick Kenny is about to start
"the revolutionary surgery to remove Otis’s brain tumour."
If successful,
it could also cure his life threatening diabetes.
It all looks pretty gruesome.
Otis can't feel any of this at the moment,
but it's really given
the size of the target we're hitting
and all the important structures around it,
like the nerves to the eyes
and the blood supply to the brain.
It's really important that he doesn't move
around too much, even a few millimetres.
So hence the set up.
"If he moves even a millimetre, that could potentially"
"make the surgery a failure rather than a success."
"While Otis is oblivious to what's going on,"
his owner, Richard, is not so lucky.
It's torturous waiting,
knowing he’s under the knife at the moment
and not sure if he's going to pull through afterwards.
"For the last nine years, he's had a nice life."
Hopefully there's another nine years left in him.
I've just gone in through the mouth
and exposed the base of Otis's skull, so it's...
I think I'm just under where the tumour is highlighted
in blue over there, just under that point.
So I need to drill about a five millimetre diameter hole,
just sort of right under it.
There's a lot of nerves and arteries
and veins right around that
"five millimetre tumour that we need to avoid."
"I guess this is the bit that no one bump"
the table or make any too sudden movements.
Patrick has now successfully drilled
through the bone at the base of the skull.
"So I'm going to start removing the tumour now."
It's like a very, very, very, very careful
game of hungry, hungry hippos.
It’s just patiently taking small amounts of tumour out.
And that's the last of it.
The tumour has been successfully removed,
but Otis is not in the clear yet.
I think the first 24 hours,
and particularly the first 6 hours
after the procedure, really are critical.
But so far so good and hopefully
things keep going smoothly.
Oh, I know.
Do you feel a bit odd, hey?
It’s been one week since Otis’s
cutting edge brain surgery
and Richard has finally been allowed
to come in for a visit at the RVC.
I missed him loads.
"It's been really weird at home.
Very quiet."
His two sisters are very quiet as well.
Upset, worried where he is.
Hello.
"- There's Otis - Here you go."
He does have a complimentary new haircut.
Dr. Stijn Niessen has been in charge of Otis’s
post-operative care.
Did you expect him to be so bright
after such a big operation?
So happy that he's managed to come through the surgery.
There were obviously a lot of risks.
Really worried, but he's a strong cat
and I knew he’d be able to do it.
Oh, he's loving that.
Seven days after brain surgery
and lying on your back,
enjoying the cuddles from your daddy.
One of the risks was
he might have new personality
or forgetting things, things like that.
So that was always scary.
"But today he obviously knew exactly who I was,"
which is great.
Back to Otis cuddles again.
It's amazing.
It's a big procedure,
but cats are so strong
they bounce back often quite, quite well.
If things go right, you know,
you can get a marvelous result.
It is great to see the joy in Richard’s eyes
and the joy that we share as a team.
He has been understandably a little bit
nervous about this whole procedure
and therefore the relief is very great
that things are going the right way.
Otis is already requiring far less insulin
and the signs are good that one day
he may be completely free of diabetes.
Really happy to know that his diabetes is going down.
To know that it might be disappearing
is definitely a miracle for him.
"He looks so much happier despite his haircut."
Yes, it's a small price to pay
for getting rid of your brain tumour, I would say.
Definitely.
And potentially getting rid of your diabetes as well.
Otis will stay in hospital for a few more
days until he's strong enough to go home.
Otis, come on, you can do it.
He'll go home soon.
But in the meantime, you can look at that.
Thank you.
Time for the last cuddles.
Meanwhile, it's also a big day for Otis.
He's coming home with Richard
after his extraordinary brain surgery.
It feels so great to be bringing him home
after not having him for two weeks
and him been poorly for over six months.
It's been horrendous.
Here you go, Otis.
After how bad it got and how frail he had become
"and the brain tumour was just really scary."
And to see that he's now totally recovered is amazing.
Can't believe it's happened.
Glad to be back?
The operation has been a total success.
He's totally back to normal, back to being sprightly.
It's just as if the diabetes
and the brain tumour never happened.
"And that's the best outcome we could have had."
Otis.
Otis, what are you doing, you cheeky cat?
The surgeons are amazing.
And it's them who I thank for his life.
Oh, Otis.
Glad to see you’re back to normal.